ceres bright spots

  • That Giant Bright Spot On Dwarf Planet Ceres Just Got Even Cooler

    That Giant Bright Spot On Dwarf Planet Ceres Just Got Even Cooler

    Ceres’s bright spots have been an enticing mystery ever since NASA’s Dawn spacecraft began approaching the dwarf planet in the autumn of 2015. Now, research from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) suggests the brightest of those shiny splotches — located within the enormous Occator crater in the northern hemisphere — is…


  • We Finally Have The Full Story On Ceres’ Mysterious Bright Spots

    We Finally Have The Full Story On Ceres’ Mysterious Bright Spots

    Water ice from a subterranean ocean? Giant salt deposits from an alien mining operation? Since March, dwarf planet Ceres’ bright spots have mystified scientists, dazzled space nerds, and sparked all manner of wild speculation. A study published yesterday in Nature has the answers we’ve been waiting for. Ceres, you are one fantastically complex beast of…